The animal's
helicopter smashed through the foliage and landed hard on the forest
floor with an earsplitting bang.

Inside, Verne raised
his head. "We're — we're alive?" he said in disbelief.

"Yup," said RJ
matter-of-factly, "on account of I sprayed the gas tank with this."
He held up a fire extinguisher that he had found in the helicopter.
"But it's not enough to douse the entire forest fire," he
added, tossing the now empty can aside.

"No," Jackson
acknowledged, coming to stand by Verne, "but that's what the
humans are planning to do."

He pointed out the
window, which now was above their heads, and they saw a series of
flashing red and blue lights, accompanied by the now-deafening wail
of a siren. RJ's ears twitched as he listened, and he heard water
being sprayed through the trees as firemen moved through the forest.

RJ sighed with relief.
"It's under control." He turned to the rest of the animals and
addressed them. "Now all we have to do is get out of here."

"That should be
simple enough," said Verne. "The window's shattered, so all we
have to do is climb out of it."

"Here," Rob said,
as he hoisted himself through the window and reached down a hand
toward the others, "I'll help."

"I don't know what
kind of things you people were doing here, Mr. Vexon, but I'm
pretty sure that most of it was illegal, so you'll have to come
with me."

A police officer
handcuffed Dr. Vexon's hands behind his back as the doctor fought
to escape. "You can't do this," Vexon snarled, "you have no
proof!"

"Proof?
That's funny," laughed the officer as he spun Vexon around to
face him. "You want proof, huh? Well, okay, how about this list
of the three hundred or so outlawed chemicals that you were using?"
The policeman held up a somewhat charred, but nonetheless intact,
clipboard with ten slightly burnt pages of lists. "Most of them
are illegal, even in Texas. Very funny indeed, don't you think?"

"I
think it's hilarious," said a second officer, coming to join the
first. He had a huge pile of lab equipment in his hands. "I've
just confiscated more evidence, by the way. This is, what, the fifth
time we've been called out here? At least now we know it will be
the last." He gestured toward the burning rubble of the
laboratory. "Never liked this place anyway."

"And apparently it
won't be rebuilt," said the first officer, now escorting Vexon
and the other scientists to the police car. "Not with all these
nitwits in jail."

"You
can't do this!" Vexon exploded again, wrestling with the
cuffs around his wrists. "I'm — CEO — of — the —
company!"

Behind a couple of
trees some distance away, a group of forty or so animals plus one
teenage boy looked on with amusement.

"Well, at least we
know now that he's out of our hair," said Verne, as he watched
Vexon struggle against the cops. "We should probably head home
now."

"Yeah," RJ agreed,
"we probably should."

Reluctantly
RJ tore his gaze away from the police car and turned around. But
before he had taken two steps, he heard Vexon suddenly shout, "YOU!"

RJ
whirled around. The crazed scientist had broken free of the
policeman and was sprinting over to the crowd of animals, his gaze on
RJ murderous. "You're their leader — I know you are!
It's your fault all of this happened! I'm not going to
have ten years of work overturned in one night by a stupid raccoon!
Not without a fight!"

RJ backed away hastily,
but as he looked behind him he saw there was nowhere to go. Vexon
had forced the entire crowd of animals right in front of the burning
forest. The firemen had not managed to douse the flames yet, and RJ
felt his fur ruffle from the heat. RJ looked back at Vexon — the
doctor was still coming — but before he could reach them, a teenage
boy stepped in front of him.

And he punched Vexon in
the stomach. The doctor doubled over, wheezing, trying to gain his
breath back. Rob spun round and sprinted towards the forest. "Come
on!"

There was no other
option. Vexon was gaining his breath back, his face red from anger,
and began running again, before the police could reach him. The
animals followed Rob into the forest, dodging burning logs and trees
as they ran. Fire surrounded them in every direction as the trees
burned and smoke obscured their view. RJ heard an earsplitting crack
overhead and ducked just in time to avoid a burning branch, which
fell two inches in front of him. The raccoon dodged it and continued
running.

"You can't hide
from me!" Vexon shouted from behind them, struggling to keep up.
The doctor wrestled furiously with the cuffs around his wrists,
trying to free himself, but all he achieved was a few cuts on his
arms. He ran on, regardless, after the Hedgies.

"This way!" said
Hammy, grabbing RJ's hand and pulling him through a tight space in
between two burning trees. RJ felt his cut shoulder brush against
the flames and yelled in agony again as pain flared up his arm. He
stopped for a moment, clenching his teeth as he covered the wound,
then continued running.

Behind them, Vexon
finally realized that he wouldn't be able to catch up. With a roar
of frustration, the scientist stopped and looked round the clearing.
Suddenly a wicked smile spread across his face. There was a burning
log in front of him, and Vexon slipped his shoe under it. The doctor
gathered his strength and, with a grunt, kicked the log, hurling it
through the air — right toward the squadron of animals.

"LOOK OUT!"

RJ whirled around
again; the log was inches above their heads when suddenly a fierce
spray of water hit it, hurling it in the other direction. The water
doused the log immediately, and it fell to the ground crumbled and
charred. The animals looked — and saw Dr. Parker standing behind
them with a fire hose, smiling at them.

"Parker!"
snarled Vexon, advancing on the other doctor. "You — you — how
could you?"

As
a response, Parker pulled the cell phone from his belt and gestured
toward it, grinning. "Oh, it was very easy," he explained. "All
I had to do was flip this thing open and dial three numbers. That's
how I did it. And who do you think cured Rob?"

"I'll get you for
this!" screamed Vexon, as he wrestled madly with the handcuffs.
"You will pay for betraying us!"

"Oh really?" said
Parker mildly, raising an eyebrow.

And with that, he
turned the hose on again and blasted it towards Vexon. The jet of
water hit the doctor in the face and pushed him backward. Vexon
screamed in frustration, trying to resist the powerful spray, but to
no avail — Parker turned the hose up a few more notches and Vexon
was pushed back even farther. Finally the doctor was shoved up
against a charred tree, blubbering and snarling, and Parker turned
the water off.

"Given up yet?" Rob
called, grinning.

Vexon
glared at them as he stood up again. "I'll never give
up," he growled, walking forward. "They may take me to jail and
lock me up, but I will escape. And I will hunt all of you down. And
I will kill you."

And
he looked down at the animals and smiled evilly, gesturing toward RJ.
"And I think I'll start with this little guy…"

"ENOUGH!"
Verne exploded, to the surprise of all the animals around him. "How
many times must we go through this? LEAVE US ALONE!"

"Oh," RJ said
calmly, reaching into his bag for the last time, "he will."

And RJ drew out his
boomerang again and hurled it toward Vexon. The doctor ducked, and
it sailed over his head. "You think I'd fall for that a second
time?" he sneered. "Fat chance."

Vexon must have got the
general gist, however, because he stopped, confused. There was a
cracking sound from overhead — and, too late, Vexon looked up in
horror to see that the boomerang had broken off a large, burning
branch, which was now hurling through the air toward the doctor. The
boomerang came back to RJ and he caught it, turning away quickly. He
spotted some of the lab wreckage through the trees and called to the
animals, "This way! Come on!"

All of them sprinted
through the burning trees toward the back of the lab. There was a
large crashing sound behind them, and they heard Vexon howling with
pain and rage. They also heard the crackle of a policeman's
walkie-talkie: "Yeah, we're gonna need a first-aid kit. It's
not too serious, just enough to keep this guy off his feet for
awhile."

Finally the crowd of
animals cleared the forest and found themselves on the lab parking
lot, in front of the wreckage. Lying some distance away was the road
to the lab, framed by the rising sun. RJ slowed to a walk, panting
and rubbing his injured arm.

"Yeah, well, with the
record he's got he'll probably end up with a lifetime in jail,"
Rob said.

"A maximum-security
one," Parker chimed in.

"Hey —" Rob
stopped and looked at Parker. "...Thanks for the help."

"You're welcome,"
Parker replied, then sighed. "I'm just sorry it took me so long
to realize something had to be done." He perked up suddenly and
shook Rob's hand. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have an
appointment with the SPCA."

And he sprinted down
the road, vanishing into the distance.

The animals looked
after him in wonderment. "Wow," said Hammy.

"So," Stella said,
coming to stand by RJ, "how are we going to get home?"

"That little car
certainly isn't big enough to fit all of us," added Lou.
"There's about thirty too many for the thing."

"Look!" said Bucky,
pointing.

They looked. Still
standing in the parking lot was the van that had captured RJ and
Hammy. The front door was open and the keys were dangling from the
ignition. The back doors were also open — and there was plenty of
room inside.

Rob grinned, and there
was a familiar, wolfish tint to his smile. "I'll drive."

"Jeepers, this cut is
deep," said Penny as she dabbed at RJ's shoulder with some
ointment. RJ winced. Penny set the ointment aside and picked up a
small washcloth, tying it around the wound. "There you go, RJ.
That should hold."

"Thanks, Penny." RJ
slid off his little car seat chair and stood up, stretching. His
shoulder felt much better. "I'm going to check on the others."

RJ walked through the
forest, breathing deeply. It wasn't just his shoulder — all of
him felt much better. He'd gotten a nice, long sleep, had
successfully led a raid on the supply of food for the neighborhood
party, and was now enjoying the middle of a glorious summer's day.
The sun was shining in a clear blue sky, and each of the Hedgies was
having a good time.

"I am!" said George
the hedgehog, leaping forward and also brandishing a stick.

"Now remember, the
winner gets to wear the leaf hat," said Lou, who was acting as the
referee. "Okay ... go!"

"Have at thee!"
said Quillo, and he began to spar with the others.

RJ smiled and walked
on. Ahead of him, Verne was discussing something with Jackson and
Willow. Verne's shell was now free of any marks; RJ had seen to
that with his electric toothbrush.

"...now remember,"
RJ heard Verne say, "the agreement was that the thirteen of us
would take this end of the forest, and the ... what was it? ...
twenty-five of you would take that end."

"Quite right, quite
right," agreed Jackson pompously. "Although to be honest I don't
see why we have to be split up like that."

"All of us wander
around so much that it doesn't really matter who belongs where,"
Willow chimed in.

"I know," Verne
admitted, "but truth be told it makes me feel better when I have
something to organize."

RJ laughed and
continued walking. Soon he came upon Heather, who was typing on the
laptop furiously, her fingers a blur. "Oh, hey, RJ," she said
when she saw him. "I was just getting more info on some
animal-rights groups."

"She's become quite
the little activist, our daughter," said Lilly happily from beside
Heather. "I'm so proud of her!" Heather rolled her eyes.

"Indeed," Ozzie
agreed. "She's aiming to help critters like the ones we
rescued."

"Yeah," said
Heather. "I mean, just Google 'animal rights' and you get,
like, two million hits. If not more."

RJ smiled and began
strolling again. There was a rustling sound from beside him, and he
turned to see Rob emerging from the hedge, brushing leaves out of his
hair. He looked up and smiled. "Hey, RJ."

"Hey," RJ grinned
back. "What're you doing here?"

"I told my parents I
was going to spend the day with some friends," said Rob, walking
with RJ. "And that's the truth, isn't it?"

"Absolutely," RJ
agreed as they passed a pond where a few of the Hedgies were
swimming. Frank the frog sat on a lily pad, humming contentedly,
while above him a bird and an owl tossed a ball back and forth
through the air. Rob went to join them, and a few dragonflies buzzed
around RJ until he batted at the air and they left. And with that,
RJ walked on some more.

"No,"
he heard Katrina say, "this is a camera. A digital camera.
See, you hold the end like this, right? And then you — AGH, no,
that's the flash button! My eyes!"

Katrina was attempting
to introduce her sister Marissa to the marvels of the technological
world. Marissa didn't seem to be picking up on it so successfully
— for one thing, she was holding the camera the wrong way. When
the pressed the "capture" button, all she got was her own face
instead of her sister's. Katrina, meanwhile, had her hands over
her eyes as she attempted to recover from the blinding flash.

"Never mind,"
Katrina said, in a voice of forced calm as she lowered her hands,
"let's try it again."

"You know, you could
keep recipes on this," said Marissa, as she eyed the camera
intently.

RJ heard Katrina sigh
exasperatedly as he moved on. In a grove to his left he saw Stella
and Tiger. "...so brave, my love," Tiger was saying. "You
vere so brave."

"Well, you were,
too," Stella purred, gazing into Tiger's eyes lovingly. And RJ
did not see or hear any more because he knew this wasn't the kind
of moment he should be listening to, and he turned away, covering his
ears.

His wanderings
eventually took him to another clearing, where he saw, sitting with
their backs to him, John and Snowy. RJ knew that he shouldn't be
listening to this either, but he couldn't help but hear John say,
"...it's been so long ... but I still miss her so much. How
could you possibly know what it's like to feel this way?"

"Because —" Snowy
hesitated again, but knew it was the right time to tell. "Susie —
she — she was also my sister." She lowered her head, her eyes
brimming. "I thought she ran away, but — now I know the truth."

John looked at her, and
a mix of emotions ran across his face — surprise, understanding,
sympathy, and — could it be? — love?

Slowly he cupped a paw
under Snowy's chin and raised her head. "Snowstar," he began,
"can this really work?"

"What do you mean?"
asked Snowy steadily.

"Well,"
John said, and now it was his turn to hesitate, "part of me's
always believed that it would be — an insult to Susie's memory to
— to love another person. And — you know — you are her
sister..."

"If you knew Susie
like I did," said Snowstar, as she smiled reluctantly, "I bet
you'd agree that she'd be the happiest to know that there was a
little more love around."

Slowly John smiled too.
"I can't argue with that." Gently he placed a paw around
Snowy's shoulders, and the two of them gazed at each other ...
happy at last.

RJ smiled and turned
away quietly from his hiding place. As he moved away he could hear
the sound of deep purring. He grinned, and continued to meander
about, pausing occasionally to sniff a flower or enjoy the breeze.

Soon he found himself
back at the log. He seemed to be the only one here: all of the other
Hedgies were off doing something else, and the spot was quiet.
Slowly he sat down in front of the mound of food, plucked the
Spuddies can from the pile, and began to munch on a couple of chips.
As he munched, he thought. He thought about all that all of them had
gone through during the past day; he thought about how far Verne and
the others had gone to rescue them; and he thought about all the new
members of their family.

RJ tossed the now-empty
Spuddies can aside and smacked his lips. He stretched his hands over
his head and yawned contentedly. It was very peaceful here, he
realized.

And peaceful was
unusual...

"HI!"

RJ yelped as a furry
red head popped out of the pile of food and grinned at him. "Hammy!"
RJ exclaimed.

"Just hiding away my
lovely cookies," said the squirrel cheerfully, hugging the plastic
bag. It looked none the worse for the journey it had been through,
but the cookies inside were still intact — and, presumably, still
delicious. "If I bury them way under here —" Hammy said, as he
burrowed far into the pile, so that all RJ could see was his tail, "—
then I won't be tempted to eat them. Not for a while, at least..."

"Good strategy,
little buddy," RJ said, grinning. "I don't want to have to go
on a run like that again."

"Well, at least we
all made it out okay," said Hammy, coming back out of the pile and
hugging RJ. "I'm glad."

"I am too, Hammy,"
said RJ, rubbing the little squirrel's head.

They stood like that
for a moment until Hammy broke the hug. "I did save one of them,"
he said brightly, holding up a large cookie. "Wanna split it?"

"Sure," RJ smiled.

Hammy broke the cookie
in half and handed one part to RJ. "It's chocolate chip! My
favorite."

"Mine, too, Hammy,"
RJ said gratefully. He bit into it and chewed, savoring the flavor.
"Wow. Rob was right — his mom really does make the best
cookies."

"Yup," agreed Hammy
through a mouthful of food. He had crammed the entire half of the
cookie into his mouth, and his cheeks swelled as he munched on it.
He chewed for awhile, then swallowed hard, and smacked his lips with
satisfaction. "De-e-e-e-e-licious."

"This is nice,
Hammy," said RJ, as he sat back down on the cool grass in front of
the log, "really nice."

"I know," sighed
Hammy happily, sitting next to RJ. He rested against the raccoon,
and together the two of them watched a few clouds drift lazily
through the sky. "We really are lucky to have a family like this."

Jeffaplus:
Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed this story, for your
positive encouragement and helpful critiques. I love you all!
Sorry this last chapter took so darn long to write. And oh yeah,
since I forgot to put the disclaimer at the beginning of the story,
I'll do it here: Over the Hedge and the characters within it are
property of DreamWorks, Mr. Fry and Mr. Lewis. No infringement is
intended — please don't sue me.

What do
you all think ... should there be a sequel?

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.